looking for hill climbing tractor

[Gem99ultra]

My Husky Rider 155 has a 4" turning circle. Not quite a zero, but a lot more pleasant to run. The Rider is an articulating mower. Ideal for getting around trees. The GTH is a garden tractor style and has 23" back tires; it is not nearly as agile. I think it has an 18" turning circle, but 99% of my use for it is large grassy areas and slopes.

Either one 'will' turn over if you just go flying off. I tried putting an out-rigger on the Rider 155. That worked, but your A* H*** will bite donuts when it tilts over to the point of running on the out-rigger arm.

If you can afford something like the Ventrac, I think that'll be about the best there is for the money. Second choice would be something with dual tires on all 4 corners like a KwikCut - but then you're getting into the $50K range.

Cheap, like me, would be looking at a mower with rear wheel weights and a weight box for the front. For 1+ acres of cutting, I wouldn't want to invest $12,000++ for a mower. Now... if you "need" a tractor, the Husky is not the machine you're looking for.

 

[Jay4200]

My Deere lx178 just died and I am looking at new tractors for climbing my hilly 1.1 acre lot.

Well, all the Ventrac recommendations aside, if a LX178 could do the job, then just about anything could. I'd go with a gear transmission over hydro though, and get something with a rear end big enough to require lug nuts on the rims.

JayC

 

[whiskeyc]

That looks like free-fall territory to me. Be careful!!!

A lot more of the saplings will be removed. My 210lb ballast on the seat makes a difference on a small tractor like the lx178. These 1000~ 1500lb subcompacts are a different animal. I have worked larger tractors years ago, and the most important thing has been knowing the how the tractor rides on that ground. I will have to have a demo at the house to be comfortable with a purchase. Both dealers that I am talking to have good reputations. Sadly one lost his Deere dealership and now sells mihandra and simplicity and ventrac.

 

[Gittyup]

Did u look at the x729or x749? Al wheel steer is the cats meow. Awesome on slopes too. Or go used and get a 455 with aws.

 

[Large Bear 13]

Steiner Tractors and Attachments take a look at the original one. STEINER: It's the little red tractor that can.

 

[Grandad4]

...Whether its me or the tractor that gets broke on the slope is another question. ...
A lot of 20 degree slopes and several 25 and 30 degree sections....

Those pictures tell a story. First thing I notice is you aren't trying to keep a manicured golf course lawn on a hillside. That's good. You can be a little more flexible about when and how you mow it. No doubt you only mow when it's fully dry. Any mower would be sliding all over if it was wet. And you can mostly go up and down, probably not a whole lot of side-slope mowing, which is also good, because those slopes are steep enough that they are really in Steiner/Ventrac territory if mowed sideways. Your place is also compact enough that if there are a few really inaccessible spots, you could handle them with a few minutes of weed eater or push mower time.

If you go for the tractor like the BX models, which I tend to prefer, keep in mind that the heavier weight means your body won't make that much difference in keeping all 4 wheels on the ground. The thing needs to be stable on its own, not because you're hanging off of one side.

One reason I favor the sub-cut type tractors is the much more robust drivetrain, particularly the transmission. They'll have a low-range for heavy pulling, such as when you're lugging stuff up that grade. Just my opinion, but that would probably mean they'd tolerate those hills over the long term somewhat better as well. At least with the sub-cut type of equipment, many people regard the hydrostatic transmission as an advantage on hills since there's no shifting or clutching, which can lead to loss of control.

Good luck with your shopping. It sounds like you're looking in the right places.

 

[jenkinsph]

Did u look at the x729or x749? Al wheel steer is the cats meow. Awesome on slopes too. Or go used and get a 455 with aws.

Participating in this forum for a couple of years I find most people don't recognize the advantages of the x729 and x749. I have operated my x749 on enough slopes as the OP has shown to know it can handle his work very well. I researched and compared the x7xx series and the Deere 2320-2720 and came to the conclusion that the x749 would fit in more places and handle the slopes much better. For the record, the cost for the x749 with 48 or 54" deck, cat 1 limited 3ph and 540 rear pto was 13,050 +tax.

It seems everyone thinks they have to have a fel on everything they buy. IMO a fel is in the way on a finished lawn area and greatly reduces the manueverability of the tractor, plus you need to have too much ballast to be optimum to use on a nice lawn. While fels are very useful to have he has already mentioned that his dad has a tractor he can use for some of these projects. While you can remove a fel and remove a ballast box to aid in manueverability it is much harder to remove wheel weights or liquid ballast needed for lateral stability needed for fel work. Seems everything is a compromise.

 

[Gittyup]

Participating in this forum for a couple of years I find most people don't recognize the advantages of the x729 and x749. I have operated my x749 on enough slopes as the OP has shown to know it can handle his work very well. I researched and compared the x7xx series and the Deere 2320-2720 and came to the conclusion that the x749 would fit in more places and handle the slopes much better. For the record, the cost for the x749 with 48 or 54" deck, cat 1 limited 3ph and 540 rear pto was 13,050 +tax.

It seems everyone thinks they have to have a fel on everything they buy. IMO a fel is in the way on a finished lawn area and greatly reduces the manueverability of the tractor, plus you need to have too much ballast to be optimum to use on a nice lawn. While fels are very useful to have he has already mentioned that his dad has a tractor he can use for some of these projects. While you can remove a fel and remove a ballast box to aid in manueverability it is much harder to remove wheel weights or liquid ballast needed for lateral stability needed for fel work. Seems everything is a compromise.

The advantage of AWS on hills is often over looked. On traditional machines, the rear drive wheels fight against turning uphill. On AWS's the drivewheels face up the hill, always pushing in the desired direction of travel. This allows them to work very well on hills. This same feature gives you excellent steerabilty when plowing/blowing snow. Also, these machines sit lower to the ground than do SUBCUTS giving them outstanding stability.

I mow some steep slopes sideways on my 425 AWS (old version similar to x700 series). It has never ever felt like it was about to turn over, even at times when I could barely stay in the seat due to the slope angle. The slopes were steep enought that I had to get off on the upper edge of the seat just to keep from falling off. My tractor is almost as wide as it is long, and alot of the weight (transmssion) is only about 4" off the ground. Then add to that the 250+ lbs of mower deck outrigging the tractor. Turning this tractor over would take some incredibly steep slopes; slopes no one would consider cutting with any sort of ride-on.

Yeah, a loader isn't an option with AWS. And that's OK by me. I have a CUT with a loader for that kind of work. But, my little 425 will mow circles around the CUT. It's very fast, compact, and manueverable with outstanding sight lines and control. It also pulls a 6' CMI garden trailer loaded with dirt or whatever. The trailer when loaded can easily weigh more than 1500 lbs. Not a problem even on hills, even backing up. And talk about manuevering the trailer, the AWS makes that so much more capable. AWS and trailerign were meant for each other; that's why I also have a quadrasteer truck. Turning with a trailer is amazing.

 

[TripleR]

I mow some steep slopes sideways on my 425 AWS (old version similar to x700 series). It has never ever felt like it was about to turn over, even at times when I could barely stay in the seat due to the slope angle. The slopes were steep enough that I had to get off on the upper edge of the seat just to keep from falling off. My tractor is almost as wide as it is long, and alot of the weight (transmission) is only about 4" off the ground. Then add to that the 250+ lbs of mower deck outrigging the tractor. Turning this tractor over would take some incredibly steep slopes; slopes no one would consider cutting with any sort of ride-on.

Our experience was completely different. Our 425 rolled down hills or flipped on slopes that our BX and 2305 handle with ease. Agreed, the 425 is really maneuverable, but it just wasn't close to our SCUTs.

We also have several tractors with FELs, but a SCUT will get in places they won't and removal takes under three minutes.

I guess it just depends on your needs and property.

 

[JohnnyDB]

Steiner Tractors and Attachments take a look at the original one. STEINER: It's the little red tractor that can.

On topic: good luck in your quest, get as many demo's as you can and make sure YOU get to drive each product so you can see if you feel comfortable, that is key.

And someone mentioned earlier about Kut Kwik with 8 tires, you can put Duals on the Ventrac and Steiners fyi

A little off topic from OP in response to quoted
Yes, sadly that is the original Steiner. It hasn't changed much since the Steiner family sold it in 88'. (For those that don't know the Steiner family that originally designed the Steiner tractor in the 70's sold in the late 80's and got back in the business in the mid 90's with Ventrac.) Steiner is still a great tractor and it would probably work great for your application, but I would never buy Steiner over Ventrac because of the fact that they have not changed since the new ownership. It has been just another "piece" in their whole lineup of other products, whereas the Steiner family takes pride in their Ventrac tractors and are always looking to improve. While the big corporation running Steiner looks to strip costs by cutting corners and using lesser quality components (look at some of their "new" attachments that are now lesser quality or made by someone else), Ventrac keeps standing behind their product and making a quality product that will take a beating in the commercial market. Yes, I said commercial, Steiners are great for homeowner market, but as a homeowner I would still prefer supporting small businesses like Ventrac who care about their product and customers even if that means a slightly higher cost. THAT is why I have Ventrac. My 2 cents...